Reaching Kendra by Edward Wolfe - a review

Reaching Kendra by Edward M. Wolfe

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This year seems to be the year of reading books way outside of my usual interest, which is psychological realism and literary fiction. That being said, I was intrigued by the few interactions I had with the author on Goodreads . . . intrigued enough to grab a copy of Reaching Kendra.

While this books falls outside the spectrum of my interest, it is hard to classify.

After the first few pages, when an average, albeit a little quirky, guy Keith gets the hot adventurous reporter Kendra, I said to myself, "Oh no, please don't be a romance." Nevertheless, the plot quickly took a turn, and the romance was not to be. Well, not the in the cheesy, laughable way romance books tend to go, anyway.

The turn I mention was Kendra going on an assignment to Iraq, to cover the troops' withdrawal. Here, the author uses the story as a platform to offer a glimpse into the mind of a suicide bomber, and one very plausible scenario behind the bomber's decision to detonate himself. But there is much more - a museum visit serves as a short lesson in history of a region many Americans know only from the media reports and the spin news corporations put out to further their own agendas. Through Kendra's interactions the reader grasps a compelling visual of life in a war-torn country, while at the same time recognizing the detachment those back home feel for the region as a whole.

When Kendra is injured in the explosion, her spiritual life takes the center stage and drives the story forward. Keith and his corporate life are set aside, and an entire new dimension to his personality and experiences sets this novel in yet another direction. It becomes a painful love story, a story of two individuals worlds apart yet together all the same, each suffering in their own way.

A cast of secondary characters comes alive as the plot thickens, each playing their respective roles and further advancing the story. Kendra's parents view the situation from a religious angle, bringing in the questions of dogma and spirituality. Keith's mother serves as the embodiment of control and guilt, while the carefree coworker and greedy boss serve as a reminder of two cultures clashing in our contemporary corporate world.

Then there is the metaphysical element, a ghost angle, and the age-old question of spirituality versus organized religion. See, I did say that the book was hard to classify.

Overall, Reaching Kendra was not only entertaining but also educational. It is a well-written novel that, while hard to classify, was a pleasure to read. If you are looking for a cookie-cutter romance, then this book is not for you. However, if you are an adventurous reader who likes to be surprised, then Reaching Kendra may be just the right book to read next.


I have purchased this copy, and a review was never solicited by the author.



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